Women's Soccer Stars Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris Are Engaged!

The U.S. women's soccer team may be in the middle of a battle for equal pay, but they also have something to celebrate: Stars Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are engaged.

The couple, who met almost 10 years ago while playing for the U.S. national team, confirmed the happy news to People. “We became really close friends, and we just hung out, we clicked, and we had so much in common,” Harris said. “We always sat next to each other on the bus and on flights, and we kind of just talked about our dreams and our hopes and what we wanted to do one day when we grew up. Because at the time, we were kids.”

“The rest has kind of been history,” she continued. “Here we are nine years later, and we’re going to be getting married this year.”

“I find that so attractive, and the way that she makes me a better person. I think that I’m very quiet and reserved,” Krieger told People about her fiancée's creativity and ambition. “Since being with Ash, I really feel like I’ve blossomed into the woman that I want to be, and she’s helped me become the woman I am.”

Harris proposed in September with a gorgeous ring (you can see it here) in Clearwater Beach, Florida. “It was a really good time because I felt really on the same page with her, and really excited about our future and talking about our future plans with kids, and family, and things like that,” Krieger said. “It just was a really good time. I was really surprised because it just seemed like another weekend getaway for us. I wasn’t really thinking about it at all!”

The two currently play for the Orlando Pride and until now have not spoken publicly about their relationship.

“We became more and more confident within and ourselves and then clearly within our relationship,” Harris said. “We were like, now is the right time…and I feel like it’s a massive weight off of my shoulders. Finally, after all these years, I just feel like I don’t have to hide anything or feel like I’m not living up to the community I’m in.”